Swanky bar, lots of room, free drinks and even twitter feeds streamed on the plasma TVs. Awesome.

The event, Twin Tech III, was the third in what has grown from an interesting gathering of old-school technology providers and hip, new Web 2.0 companies to a can’t miss event. We have covered the Twin Tech events in the past here and here when they had 500 and 1,000 attendees, respectively. But this time it was 1,500 people that led to a tremendous amount of conversation and business card exchanging.

Photo Credit: TechBisnow.com

I have to say that my experience was different and even better this time around. You go to many events and see many of the same people. This time there were many new faces and it was a blast to connect with new people. Also, what I did notice was that there was a serious amount of “speed dating/networking” going on. Maybe it is the economy, but people were quick to find out who you were, what you did, if there was a fit, exchange cards and move on. It was pretty efficient and I liked that. It seemed to be that people knew that there was much ground to cover and that they would all catch up later via email to schedule time to meet one on one.

The event was sponsored by Peter’s company, iStrategyLabs, and NVTC, the leading tech organization in Virginia. This time around, they even had a bus that left from Reston and ran to DC.The bus was sponsored by  London Ink, R2i, Speaker Box Communications, Memory Blue and LeverPoint  and filled with food, beer, and wine. These are times I wish I still lived in Reston.

But I get to hang out with awesome people like our blogger team, Joe Loong and Jill Foster:

Photo Credit: Shashi Bellamkonda

Peter tells me that Twin Tech IV is already in the works for Spring. For those of you that are near the DC area you should definitely make out to this event.

We have covered many events in the past but there is one event here in the DC area that seems to be a gravity well for all things tech. I am talking about the Twin Tech event that has already been held twice and we cover the first one and the second one to much fanfare.

The first event had 600 people and was a blast. The second was even bigger and with an open bar for 1200 people.

A full recap of Twin Tech II can be found here:
http://www.istrategylabs.com/twin-tech-ii-recap-photos-video-and-posts-from-around-the-net/

This time? 2000 people are registered and they are looking for a way to accommodate more people.

Here are the details:
When:
Thursday, January 22th, 2009 from 6:00pm-9pm

Where:
Lux Lounge: 649 New York Ave NW, Washington DC

Parking is available across the street and the Gallery Place and Convention Center Metro stops are blocks away.

According to the event site, “The format remains the same: the brightest minds in the tech/venture space will be on hand to mix and mingle with one another during a happy hour style meet-up. An open bar will be made available through the generosity of our sponsors.”

Since this is Inauguration Week here in Washington, DC many of our readers may be visiting from out of town. If you are interested, the event page is located at http://twintech3.eventbrite.com/.

We will have coverage of the event but we hope to see you out there.

Peter Corbett recently became one of the primary networking connectors in the MD/DC/VA area with the launch of the Twin Tech event in DC this past summer. Peter is well known in the marketing and social media community as a person who knows how to help companies large and small leverage social media through digital marketing, content creation and what he calls experiential marketing.

On Thursday, September 18th, 2008 iStrategyLabs hosted Twin Tech II with the Northern Virginia Technology Council. Twin Tech was created to bridge the gap between the veteran and emerging technology communities in the capital region.

Peter noted on his site the following facts:

-1200 confirmed attendees (250 in the first 24 hours, 400 in the first week)
-200+ waiting list
-36 amazing and generous sponsors
-2 official product launches. One by BrandClik and one by iStrategyLabs for the Bloom content creation service

Better this time around

Peter did one heck of a job for a first time event. It was a success by all accounts. The only thing people had complained about was because it was packed to capacity and really hot inside and out, made it hard to look professional when you are sweating profusely.

Learning from that experience and wanting to have an even bigger event. Peter selected the club venue called “Avenue” located on New York Ave in DC. It was closer to the metro and with three levels and air conditioning allowed everyone to spread out. There were about 200-300 conversations with an open bar on each level. There were lots of sponsors and companies launching products, tons of networking and what seemed to be lots of space to move around and really meet as many people as you wanted to.

The Twin Tech Communities Really Want to Work Together

For many of you out there who were around for the Web 1.0 era, you might remember the Netpreneur events put on by Mario Marino and his team. This has the same feel to it and I believe the communities are serious about connecting and finally trying to work together. Not only was the first Twin Tech not a flash in the pan, the coverage made this follow up even bigger and better. I believe that one of these a quarter with some related smaller focused events that target specific technical topics that the Twin Tech communities do even more effective networking would be amazing.

I just can’t wait for Twin Tech III. I know Peter and his team will deliver another memorable event.

EPILOGUE: Additional Info

Peter gathered all the coverage of the event, so for additional information, check out these sites:

[The Washington Post]: “Dispatch from the Tech Scene in Washington” (great diversity of perspectives on Twin Tech)

[Washingtonian Magazine]: “Twin Tech II Takes Over DC” (includes lots of great photos)

[Tech Bisnow]: “Twin Tech Towns Part Deux” (includes some great photos and commentary)

[Tech Bisnow]:”…NVTC’s New Reach” (includes some great photos and commentary)

[Shashi Bellamkonda]: “Twin Tech 2 – Peter Corbett organizes a giant cocktail party“

[I am now, have been, and will be wrong - VC Basics]: “Another Twin Tech Event“

[Solutions are Power - Network Solutions]: “It’s back…Twin Tech II…the event that united two DC tech communities“

[Solutions are Power - Network Solutions]: “Uniting communities through social media with Peter Corbett of istrategylabs.com“

[East Coast Blogging]: “Twin Tech II Returns with a Bang“

[Josh Greene]: “Twin Tech II“

[ButtonAll]: “ButtonAll Advances Across the Mason-Dixon Line“

[Diditzism]: “Event wrap-up – Twin Tech II in DC and Tweetup in New Delhi“

[Our Young Children]: “Early Literacy Conversation at Twin Tech II“

[Brick and Click]: “Twin Tech 2 Party a Smashing Success“

[SpeakerBox Plugged-in]: “Event Recap: Twin Tech II“

[Web 2.0h…really?]: “D.C. Social Media: 2.0ut in front?“

[ExecutiveBiz Blog]: “Washington Post’s “The Download” Emerges from “The Down Low”“

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